"When did I last change the oil?" is a question most drivers can't answer at the service counter. A maintenance log built from repair receipts keeps you on schedule and doubles as a service history when you sell the car. Add insurance, registration and fuel, and you'll see what the car really costs.
1. Columns for the maintenance log
A repair receipt shows the date, shop, total and the work done. The receipt tool extracts the date, store and total, and you fill in the rest from the receipt.
| Date | Shop | Total | Odometer | Work done | Next check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2/14/2026 | Main St Auto | 89.00 | 25,600 | Oil and filter | Dashboard reminder or manual |
| 5/3/2026 | Tire Depot | 520.00 | 27,850 | Two front tires | Check tread |
| 8/22/2026 | Main St Auto | 46.00 | 29,900 | Wipers, cabin filter |
Odometer is the most important column. Service intervals are often based on miles rather than months, and they vary by vehicle and driving conditions, so go by your owner's manual or manufacturer's schedule. If the receipt doesn't show mileage, photograph your dashboard at the shop.
2. Turn receipts into rows
Repair invoices are long, with many parts lines. Photograph them so the shop name at the top and the total at the bottom are clear, add them to the receipt tool to get the date, store and total, and paste the rows into the log. Add a short description of the work from the photo.
Keep gas receipts separately and you can track fuel economy too. See Gas receipts to Excel for that.
3. See one type of service at a time
Use the same words in Work done every time, like "Oil", and a filter pulls together every oil change so you can see the intervals. To see miles since the last one, put your current mileage in a cell and use:
- Mileage at last oil change:
=MAXIFS(D:D, E:E, "*Oil*") - Miles since then: subtract the result above from your current mileage (for example, with current mileage in J1 and the result in J2,
=J1-J2)
4. Yearly running costs
Repairs are only part of the story. Gather a year of costs on a Running costs sheet.
| Cost | Year total | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel | 1,860.00 | Gas receipts, card statements |
| Maintenance and repairs | 655.00 | Maintenance log |
| Insurance | 1,320.00 | Policy documents |
| Registration and taxes | 190.00 | Payment records |
| Parking and tolls | 214.00 | Card statements, toll account |
| Car washes and other | 96.00 | Receipts |
| Total | 4,335.00 |
Divide by the miles driven in the year for cost per mile: =Total / annual miles. At 12,000 miles a year, that's about 36 cents a mile, a useful figure when comparing with transit, rideshares or car sharing.
5. Keep receipt photos for resale
A maintenance log with receipts shows a buyer the car was looked after. Keep a receipt photo folder named for the car, and match log rows to photo file names.
Summary
For car records you need just two sheets: a maintenance log with mileage and a yearly running cost summary. Photograph repair receipts when you get them and turn them into rows once a month, and you'll never miss a service or wonder what the car really costs.